Field of the Invention
The invention, according to the various embodiments described herein, relates to a method for the effective identification of neighboring nodes in a mobile ad-hoc network, accordingly a corresponding network.
Discussion of the Background
In mobile networks without infrastructure—so-called ad-hoc networks—the management, the monitoring and the control of the data traffic is processed directly between the individual network participants—the so-called network-nodes respectively nodes.
In this context, one substantial function is the planning of the route from the transmitting node to the receiving node, the so-called routing. Accordingly, the routing between the transmitting node and the receiving node can typically be implemented via several intermediate nodes. For a multi-hop routing of this kind, two classes of routing method have been established in principle.
In the case of proactive routing, the direct neighbor nodes of every individual node in an ad-hoc network are determined in each case within a given time raster and stored in a routing table which is notified to all nodes of an ad-hoc network via selected nodes. By contrast, in the case of reactive routing, the respective neighbor nodes of every individual node in the transmission corridor between the transmitting node and the receiving node are determined uniquely in the case of a transmission request of a node shortly before the transmission and communicated to the individual nodes within the transmission corridor.
The data traffic for determining the neighbor nodes of every individual node and the data traffic for notifying the respective neighborhood nodes of every individual node in the overall ad-hoc network requires transmission capacity which significantly minimises the transmission efficiency within the ad-hoc network. Conversely, because of the network nodes accessing and departing from the mobile ad-hoc network, a mobile ad-hoc network is typically highly variable and requires a continuous and rapid updating of the knowledge required for the proactive routing method regarding the nodes positioned in each case directly adjacent to every node of the ad-hoc network. For existing proactive routing methods, the topology of the ad-hoc network—that is, the knowledge regarding the distribution of the individual nodes in the ad-hoc network—is therefore determined within a time raster which represents a compromise between the degree of actuality of the topology of the ad-hoc network and the transmission efficiency within the ad-hoc network.
For a node which is disposed outside an ad-hoc network and which would accordingly seek to integrate as quickly as possible into an existing ad-hoc network or to establish a new ad-hoc network with another node also disposed outside an ad-hoc network, it is not feasible merely to announce its presence to potential neighbor nodes in a time raster extended on the basis of a compromise.